a dog to be reducing the deficit and debt. they say they want higher taxes on people in this country to pay for new spending. >> you have spoken a few times with the prize -- the vice president and it seems they have been able to come up with bipartisan deals. did he give you an indication that you just had with fellow republicans that it may be an avenue of success? >> there were conversations and discussions between us and we remain hopeful that it will be a breakthrough. obviously, what happened here between the two leaders in the senate had broken down because they had come forward with a counter offer to what republicans said last night. hopefully the discussions between the vice-president and senator mcconnell will get us back on track and we will have a breakthrough and something we can vote on today or tomorrow to avert what we all believe would be an economic disaster. >> harry reid is as if you cannot come up with something by tonight that he will push a scaled-down version of what the president asked for, the tax cu